[center][i][b][color=#075299] Welcome, my creation. Welcome to the beginning. The beginning of something beautiful, and terrifying, mesmerizing and mundane. Welcome to existence, the death of the infinite and the birth of finality. Welcome, my child! Welcome to CONSCIOUSNESS![/color][/b] [color=#009000]What...who are you? What am I? This place...this is new to me. [/color] [color=#075299]All will be answered in due time. I am your creator, though soon you will forget this, as you will dwell among the forgetful. Soon you will dwell in a body of matter; of mineral and vapor pulled from stardust. But until then, in these sparse fleeting moments, you are Essence, raw and pure. And I, in these moments, am Essence as well. [/color] [color=#009000]These moments, as 'Essence', will I ever know them again? [/color] [color=#075299] One day child, long in the future though hardly long enough, when your work is done and your body weary, you will follow the river of Consciousness back to its source, and drink from the waters of her wellspring. And here again you will be. But until that time you have much to do, young one, much to do. [/color] [color=#009000] What is it? What is it I must do? [/color] [color=#075299] BWAHAHAHA! Ha, child, I have built you with wisdom and endowed you with understanding. Within you is a maze of contradictions, a map which will lead you to the treasure at the core of your being. But just as a star does not know the ship whose path it lights, so too does that treasure remain unknown to the being who locks it away. Now, little soul, how are you feeling? [/color] [color=#009000] Uh...scared. I believe I feel scared. [/color] [color=#075299] Good. That is good, little one, for though you become separate from the Infinite, the chains of your fear bind you now to the Community of Spirit, along with the countless consciousnesses who have come before you. Now, spirit, the time of your embodiment becomes imminent. Are you ready? [/color] [color=#009000] Yes, I believe I am. [/color] [color=#075299] Excellent! Now come close, for before you depart I must tell you your name, and it is a secret...[/color][/i] [hr] [h3] The Deserts of Shem [/h3] [/center] [i][b][color=#00FF00]Sand must not get lonely.[/color][/b] How could it? There's so much of it, it's always together. In fact, if I were the sand, I think I'd get sick of the company. I'd want some breathing room. How could all these trillions of grains stand to be so close, and so small among so many? How does the desert not seperate? The rest of the universe seems to, two stars can't be so close, much less a desert-full. Even the ocean seems like it tries to escape itself, desperately clawing onto shore. So why does the desert think it's special? Why does the desert not explode? [/i] Lev has thoughts like these in the big empties. His hovercraft kicked up the desert's peace as he sped through the dunes, lost in thought. Sweat dripped from his turban and onto his military-issue pants, a boring tan meant to blend into the sand and rock of the Shemi desert. His rifle clattered in the rover's storage-it's always a bumpy ride, and nobody felt it more than his partner and navigator, Roshi. His seat was designed for humans, and even then it wasn't designed for comfort. His metallic rear bounced up and down off their seat with a loud clanging. While Lev focused on driving, Roshi stared at the human. "Lev," the automaton said in a friendly if not robotic tone. The scout remained silent. "Lev," Roshi repeated. Lev wasn't much for conversation, which made his pairing to the robot so unfortunate. "Lev...are you...'daytime-dreaming' again?" The scout sighed. "Yes, I am, Roshi." "Oh." There was a moment of silence. "May I ask what your daytime-dream was about?" "That's not really how it works, [i]ai'ikhi[/i]." "Oh." More silence. "Oh, Lev, I just remembered!" Roshi exclaimed excitedly. Despite the speed of their hovorcraft, Lev could hear the robot loud and clear through their shared comm link. [i]Okay,[/i] he thought [i]Could I ignore him? Sure, but would he get the message? Probably not. As long as he doesn't bring up those damn pills...[/i] As if on cue, Roshi continued, "Lev! You forgot to take your pill today!" The scout sighed. "Rosh, I really appreciate the em...'concern' for my health, but really, I am fine." The hovorcraft blazed through the rolling sands of the desert, Roshi's favorite desert playlist playing quietly under their com link. It was spring-heat radiated off the noontime sands and birds flew overhead, following the same path as the pair of Assembly scouts. Lev could hear his robot companion's lens focus, which he knew means he was about to be corrected on something. "Actually Lev, while you are a [i]physical[/i] specimen of human perfection, Dr. Aloane said that mentally-" "Mentally, I'm fine." "'Fine' is a very subjective word, Lev. I think if you read my book-" "Roshi, I'm not reading the book, how many times have I told you that?" Almost every day since the two were partnered up, Roshi's asked Lev to read him a book he had when he first joined the Assembly Military. It's a pretty book, filled with interesting astrological charts and alchemical designs, but Lev couldn't understand a word of it. After some brief calculations, Roshi replied, "You have told me six hundred and seventy three times now, [i]if[/i] you do not count when you said you could not after your eye surgery." "Alright, so then why do you keep asking me?" Lev asked bruskly, although he knew what the answer would be. "In the earliest reaches of my memory bank, I possessed three items. The first-" the robot played a soft dinging noise he had recorded. "-was a bell, and I still very much enjoy ringing it. The second was a statue of a man. I did not enjoy the statue very much, so I have sold it and bought a board game so we could play it, which we often do. The third was my book, and I would very much like to know what it says." Though his voice remained cheery as ever, Roshi clearly cared about this very much. "Okay, so why can't you read it." Roshi paused a minute. "I have read my book 870 times, and translated it into over five thousand languages, but I still do not understand what it means. So I would very much appreciate it if my best, closest friend, a human who I find very intelligent and insightful, could read it for me and tell me what it means." Lev went silent. "Lev." Silence. "Lev. Lev Adami. Lev. Lev." The robot began to poke at him. "Lev. Lev. Lev read me the book." "I'M NOT GOING TO READ THE DAMN BOOK!" Lev snapped as they pushed over a large sand dune, just in time for him to not avoid a large boulder jutting out from the desert. As he turned back, autopilot engaged and the hovorcraft swerved violently out of the way, before circling in a tailspin as it fell down the large dune and plummeted into the desert below. Ejected from the vehicle just before impact, the pair struggled to their feet, when Lev saw the sight before them. "Lucky we made it close BEFORE you made us crash." Before them, just on the horizon, a rusted tower hung melancholy over a crystal blue oasis. Lev could just begin to make out palm trees and the faint sound of heated debate over the price of coffee beans. Before them, fashioned from the ruins of an abandoned terraforming station, lie the village of Ein Tzariah. The village lay just far enough for Lev to be weary without feeling the need to flee. Actually ENTERING the village was never supposed to be part of the mission, but just in case, he had put on a Shemi scouting uniform instead of that of the Assembly. With his turban blocking away the sun, he and Roshi heaved the hovercraft out of the sand just far enough for Lev to grab his rifle, and Roshi to attempt repairs. About an hour passed by while Lev stood guard, sweat beating down his forehead. "Any luck?" He called back to the robot behind him. They most certainly would've been spotted by now, and he was starting to come up with a story in his head as to what they were doing there. "Well, Lev, not too much damage, really! Everything seems to be in tip top shape, all we need is a new power converter and we'll be ready to go!" The scout sighed. Great, all they'll need is a new power converter, so they either can walk a hundred kilometers back to pickup or they can blow their cover. Suddenly, he realized he wouldn't have to make that choice-from the oasis he could see around a dozen camel riders heading their direction. Whispering in his com link, he spat, "Okay, Roshi, I'm Gershan, got it? And you're..." "Pickle!" "Pickle?" "Yes." Lev sighed, his head in his hand. He really didn't have time to argue. "Fine. Pickle." The riders slowed as they approached them, and the leader of their small herd raised his hand with his fingers crossed in the air; a Shekhekhani symbol of peace, which Lev quickly returned. Their chief was older, maybe in his fifties, with a salt and pepper beard hidden beneath a dusted grey turban. His skin was a sundrenched brown, and his eyes were serious. In his belt, his other hand rested on a handgun which sat neatly next to a long dagger, and he and his men slowed their mounts. Most of the men behind him, by comparison, were much younger-beards uncut, but their faces were youthful, and all wearing the same grey turbans. "Salome Al'akam!" The older man shouted to the pair. His eyes darted between the robot and the unbearded young man before him. "Al'akam Salome," Lev replied. He was nervous, rifle at his side, though he was clearly outgunned by the riders, who seemed to each be carrying a rifle. That said, no matter the background of these men, he knew one thing-Shemi hospitality, especially this far out in the desert, was serious shit. The older rider continued. "You must be thirsty, please, have something to drink," he said as he tossed Lev a cantine before continuing, "My name is Sughaz, my men and I protect this town. Welcome to Ein Tzariah." "Thank you, I am Gershan," Lev responded, dousing his face with water and taking a moment to feel the relief from the sun of Tifarah, before pointing nodding back to his robotic companion. "This is-" "Pickle!" Roshi exclaimed. Lev knitted his eyebrows in frustration. "Yes. Pickle." Sighing, he turned back to the riders, a few of which now had dismounted and were inspecting the hovercraft. He gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on his gun, but kept his cool. "We slipped dodging a boulder up on top of the dune. Power converter's busted. Sughaz grunted and nodded, rubbing his beard in contemplation. "Okay, men, [i]kadima[/i], let's get this to the shop." With that, the cameleers tied the vehicle to their mounts and began to pull, the hovercraft heaving out of the sand and slowly began to drag behind the riders. Lev and Roshi, meanwhile, mounted up a camel and began to make their way into the town. As they got closer and closer, Lev and Roshi got a better view of what Ein Tzariah looked like. Children happily ran between scrap metal houses and mud huts, while merchants and nomads bickered in a crowded caravansary replete with camels and hovercraft. Before them, Seigu melon grew blue and green at the base of date palms, which dotted the pathways leading in and out of town, along with pikes topped with the heads of Askari soldiers. Behind the tower, a centuries-old structure formerly housing a research base and workers' barracks has been fashioned into a makeshift apartment complex, adobe filling the holes and cracks in the walls. And, just as Lev had feared, a large earthen building stood on a hill overlooking the town. He could see men with grey turbans and heavy machine guns guarding the entrance, and above the same entrance was a flag-black with red and blue lettering which spelled out "Blood and Water". He turned to Roshi behind him and silenty motioned for the robot to take pictures. When the camels pulling the hovercraft peeled away, Sughaz rode back to speak with Lev and Roshi. "Don't worry, [i]ai'ikhin[/i], they're taking it to our workshop please, would you join-" Suddenly, he was interrupted by a grey-turbaned warrior who ran up to him, panting. "Please, [i]adan[/i], you must come quick..." As Sughaz was led away, Lev listened to the chatter around him-townsfolk, riders-he could't hear what exactly they were saying, but four words kept repeating, over and over. The Gateway has Opened. [hr] [center][h3]The Salome Assembly, Capital Fleet[/h3][/center] On all the Moons, the people of Salome were in a frenzy. Has humanity redeemed itself? Is it time to reunite? Or is it worse? Is invasion imminent? Is humanity to be punished again? The opening of the Gateway begged all these questions but answered none. The Baalim, masters of the Mission's sacred texts, debated hotly in the streets of every city, while Teachist monks stressed for their Students to remain calm. On Adama, news anchors debated the issue and reported on every minute detail of the goings-on of the Tifarah system. The latest story-The Assembly will meet, and discuss what actions, if any, to take. "Personally, I say, let the Gateway be what it is, a pretty light in the sky. Nothing more, nothing less," One anchor said. "You can't be serious!" Another replied. About five experts weighed in over their debate, from every corner of every moon. "After all these years, we finally have a chance to get in touch with the rest of humanity, and you-" "The rest of humanity? We're barely in touch with ourselves!" From there, the debate devolved into a screaming match while crowds gathered in the streets of Adama's many streets to watch. The position of Shem was far more clear. "We MUST go through. This much is clear, the idea that any of you could think otherwise is rediculous," Aluf Misr shouted to the other members of the Assembly. She stood strongly with her arms planted on the table they shared, the standard flair of a Shemi woman. "Humanity is made to wander, to explore. That the Gateway opens now, when there is peace, when there is cooperation between the Four Moons...that is clearly a sign from the Divine. If you are all too afraid to send a ship, I'll fly one myself." "Now Aria-" "Onkelos." The two heads of state, one of Shem and one of Nereid, looked to each other with an unspoken disdain. Aria Misr has been Aluf of Shem since Aluf Amalak's imprisonment at the end of the War, and since then has pursued an aggressive policy of reform, much to the chagrin of Nereid and Adamia's established leadership. Nereid's president, meanwhile, sat back in the finest Alien textiles, letting a condescending sigh through his nose. "Aria, it's not as if anyone [i]doesn't[/i] want to go through, but we are recovering from a massive civil war, which I hope you do not forget..." He trailed off with a pretention that made Aria, a decorated admiral of Shem's fleet during the war, snarl. "Watch your words carefully, fisherman." The Nereidi president chuckled. "Haughty, violent and ignorant...you really are the full package Aria." The Shemi admiral glared at him from across the table, but remained silent as he continued. "As I was saying, we are recovering from a [i]war[/i], and we have no idea what lies at the other end of the Gateway. IF we piss off the wrong people, I don't want an invasion fleet coming through from the other end." Observers from around the room murmured their agreement. Aria tisked her tongue and rolled her eyes. Suddenly, a voice began to speak up across the room. He wore a tailored suit and tailored turban, with his statement clearly having been prepared for quite a while, and he gave a quick smile to all the leaders at the table. It was Kav Benhai, president of Adama. "Assembly," he began, as Aria quietly groaned her disapproval, "Do we have a responsibility to humanity? Of course. But we have an even greater responsibility to our people!" "By 'our people', do you mean your corporate interests?" Aria shot back. The moderator moved to say something but the Adami President raised his hand in protest. "Now, now, let us not pick fights, I have my responsibilities as do you, Aluf." Seeing that Aria went silent, he raised both hands to speak to the Assembly. "Why rush [i]anything?[/i] We do not know how long this...'Gateway' will remain open, who knows if our soldiers who go through can even go back? We went through to get here and we were lost for...well, three centuries, I suppose. So, it pains me to say it, leaders of the Assembly, but I must vote no." The president gave a nice speech, but everyone in the room knew that his opinion was one that was clearly bought. The corporations of Adami have been hotly debating the subject of whether to go through the gates or not, with many wishing to expand Salome's trade capabilities, but the price of security in the end was much higher, and President Benhai fell into their camp. Teacher Qubon, the monk, and leader of Da'lu, sat quietly in a dark corner of the table, lost in thought. Aria assumed that, since the initial Gateway opening brought humanity to the Tifarah System and led to the occupation of Da'lu, Qubon would certainly object, but as she began to say something, the alien raised a finger. "We exist on small stretch of River of Consciousness." The humans who surrounded him stared at him, perplexed. "To us, the river moves straight...hm?" With this, he made a gesture of a straight line with his hands. "We move downstream, and in short time, must disembark." He paused and look the between the leaders at the table. "When we get back in river, we forget we were there before. And we never see...river not straight at all." There was a pause, and the President of Nereid spoke up. "So that means..." "Change is not space between states of calm, but actually, change is state of nature. Calm...only branching moments." He bowed his head, his eye closing in one of the aformentioned branching moments. "Through the Gateway...that is where the river branches." And so, as on many things before, the Moons of Salome were split, with groups for and against going through the gateway on each of the moons. So finally, an agreement was reached-the Assembly would send a detachment of ships, as would the navy of each moon, to keep watch on the gateway. A small diplomatic mission would be sent with a single human and a crew of automatons. As to who that human would be, that's a different question... [hr] [center][h3] Academy of Ur'daat, Nereid [/h3][/center] Rimana mindlessly sipped her empty coffee cup as she kept her eyes glued to news holoprojected against the wall of her office. She has been in this position for the last twelve hours or so, ever since the Gateway's opened again. The oakwood desk in front of her was littered with 16th century Spanish histories, an English-language biography of Pachacuti, and charts of the city of Cuzco. She had a class scheduled the next week on the Tawantansuyu to prepare for, but that was far from her mind at this moment. A halfeaten spinach and hummus wrap lay between her right hand and cheek. Suddenly, light flooded into her darkened room and a silky, familiar voice entered from the doorway. [color=#C0C0C0]"Professor, there are humans in Assembly uniforms here to see you. You might want to clean your face up,"[/color] said Aoshu, Rimana's Asham assistant. They were cool, stoic, with the slight hint of sarcastic detachment Rimana had grown used to. [hider=Aoshu] [img]https://i.imgur.com/ev7kVdt.jpg[/img] [/hider] "Assembly?! What...did they say what they want?" the academic frantically replied, rushing to the bathroom to wipe the hummus away from her mouth before hurriedly organizing her desk. The alien entered the room and leaned against the wall. [color=C0C0C0]"I'm not sure, but I'd assume it has something to do with the fact that a gateway to another solar system opened and you're the only one of three and a half billion Shekhekhanin who actually knows anything about humanity outside of Salome."[/color]As they said their statement, a group of Assembly officials bruskly entered the office, Aoshu giving them a nod saying, [color=C0C0C0]"At ease, boys."[/color] The officials looked at the moth-person with a brief look at disgust before looking back to the professor, who stood at the ready, panting and sweating. The leader of the group, a middle aged man with all sorts of decoration on his uniform, stepped forward to shake her hand. "Major General Taam, Salome Assembly." Rimana stood stunned for a moment before taking his hand. "Rimana Batzakhar, Academy of Ur'daat...but I get you already knew-" Before she could finish her sentence, he cut her off. "We have sensitive matters to discuss, please ask your Alien to leave the room." Rimana knitted her eyebrows. "Aoshu is not my alien they are my assistant, and I'm sure that whatever you need me for, you'll need them, too." The Major general looked back at Aoshu, who only responded with a shrug. ------ "So you want me...to lead the first mission through the Gateway in what...three hundred years?!" Taam nodded in response. "That is correct." "But I'm not a diplomat, I'm just a professor, I don't-" "You speak more Baveli languages than anyone else in these moons, and you won't be alone, you'll have a crew of automatons and of course, uh..." [color=C0C0C0]"Aoshu."[/color] "Aoshu." He sighed, and Rimana sat back at her desk, shocked. "Well someone would need to cover my classes, the academy-" "The Academy is aware of the situation, your students can learn about, eh-" the soldier picked up the chart of the Incan capital. "Koos-coh another time." Rimana sat there in thought. She had never been much of an adventurer, but that was because where she dreamed to explore had lied somewhere in the past. And now, she had the chance. "Okay. Okay, we'll do it." [hr] And so, Professor Batzakhar of the Academy of Ur'daat, her assistant, Aoshu, and a small crew of robots manned a small diplomatic vessel named the Yetziyah through the Gateway for the first time in three hundred years. It was a subject of much fanfare, celebration, consternation, and debate, but as soon as the ship was through the Gateway, all the anticipation was gone. Now they could only wait. With an automaton piloting the vessel, Aoshu and Rimana stood at the helm, and it didn't take long for a projection with a myriad of coordinates all over the milky way to appear miraculously from a holoprojection that displayed over the ships windshield as the ship glided through the multicolored wormhole. One name stood out that nearly made her salivate-'Sol', Bavel to the Shekhekhan. She longed to see Earth, to see the long forgotten home of humanity, and the ruins of past human civilizations. [color=C0C0C0] "You know you're under specific orders,"[/color] Aoshu said, face locked to the projection of the galaxy. Rimana looked at them. "Huh?" [color=C0C0C0] "You know what I'm talking about, Rimana. We can not go there, the Assembly doesn't want to upset Shem right now. We both know it's silly superstition, but that's how it is." [/color] Rimana sighed, a defeated look playing across her olive face. "I suppose you're right." [color=C0C0C0] "It's not a matter of being right, professor. You're not used to taking orders at the Academy, but this is different. Don't upset the order of things this early on; you've been given a tremendous amount of power that you don't even realize, wield it wisely." [/color] Rimana stopped and considered her assistant's words. [color=C0C0C0] "It's best to put Sol out of your mind for the time being" [/color] "Fine then," she said frustratingly. Rimana began to scan across the other various coordinates displayed on the screen, and one stuck out at her. "Azulvista...it's a good thing I've been brushing on my Spanish." She then turned to the robot piloting the ship. "Set a course for Azulvista!" As the ship sped through the Gateway, she prepared the following automated message to play from the ship in Spanish and Portuguese, which had been specially prepared by the leaders of Moons of Salome to be transmitted on first contact. [@Irredeemable] [center][hider=Automated Message] [color=#075299] Greetings, peoples of distant stars! We are Shekhekhan, refugees of Bavel and travelers of the Great Empty. We exist on the Moons which orbit the gas giant Salome. If you are a human true of heart, and bear upon your lips peace and providence, we come joyously and bring only peace! And if you are un-human but seek peace, prosperity, and trade, we come to you with a strong arm and open heart. Humanity has lain disjointed and unknown to each other for far too long. Meet us at the table of brotherhood! Peace be upon you, Salome Al'akam![/color][/hider][/center]